Method for displaying an object in a panorama window

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for displaying an object (OB) that features in a panorama (P) moving on a screen. The method includes a step for positioning a target zone (Z) of the panorama surrounding the object in a predetermined window of the screen, and a step for replacing the said target zone (Z) of the panorama by a video sequence that includes the object, the positioning and replacement steps being activated in response to an activation control. Among other aspects, with this method, the visual discontinuities between the panorama and the video sequence can be reduced.  
     The invention also relates to a receiver of audiovisual transmissions, which receiver includes means for implementing the above method.

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for displaying an object in a window of a panorama.

[0002] “Panorama” is understood to mean a method of rendering a real or virtual scene, this method enabling the scene to be partially displayed on a screen. It is thus expected to be able to move the panorama such that the entire scene is accessible to an observer who is located at the centre of this scene; the observer varies his viewing angle but not his viewpoint.

[0003] Presently, in a common way, panoramic scenes are being represented in three dimensions, and, by way of example, mention is made of the software “Quicktime VR” which is a registered trademark of the company Apple. Regarding this subject, reference can be made to the article “Quicktime VR—An Image Based Approach to Virtual Environment Navigation”, S. E. Chen, SIG′GRAPH95.

[0004] An observer located at the centre of such a scene can rotate about himself to make his angle of view vary in the range 0° to 360°. The scene can therefore be represented by a cylinder which becomes a plane image when it is developed. This plane image is often a real image obtained by juxtaposing photographs taken successively after having made a camera rotate through an angle equivalent to the aperture angle of its lens. But this plane image can also be a virtual image. Only a part of the scene is displayed on the screen, which part corresponds to a sector of the cylinder, and the observer has direction controls to turn to the left or to the right in the scene.

[0005] While this type of representation reflects progress in relation to a plane representation, any object in the scene is always viewed by the same angle. To display several faces of this object, it is appropriate to provide a video sequence simulating an animation, for example a rotation around it, the object then appearing in various angles.

[0006] This video sequence will therefore replace the part of the panorama that appears on the screen. However, the transition from the panorama to the video sequence must take place by limiting, as far as is possible, discontinuities such as image jumps.

[0007] Thus, the aim of the present invention is a method for displaying a video sequence presenting an object which features in a panorama, limiting the discontinuity appearing between the display of the panorama and the display of this sequence.

[0008] The invention relates to a method for displaying an object that features in a panorama moving on a screen, which method is characterized in that it includes a step for positioning a target zone of the panorama surrounding the object in a predetermined window of the screen, and a step for replacing the said target zone of the panorama by a video sequence that includes the object, the positioning and replacement steps being activated by an activation control.

[0009] The activation control by the observer therefore enables the target zone to be positioned in a precisely defined window of the screen. The operation resulting from this command will not be described further since it poses no difficulties to the person skilled in the art.

[0010] The video sequence is then displayed in the window, and so the visual discontinuity is limited to this window and does not concern the whole screen.

[0011] Moreover it is appropriate to reduce the discontinuities even within the window. However, due to the displaying in three dimensions, the representation of the target zone, particularly its contour, depends on its position on the screen.

[0012] Thus, since the window features a reference representation of the target zone following the activation control, for the visual aspect it is preferable that the video sequence exhibits a contour identical to that of this reference representation.

[0013] As a preference, since the panorama is a result of an optical process having predetermined characteristics, the video sequence originates from the same optical and graphical process.

[0014] Advantageously, the window is positioned at the centre of the screen, this window being the position of the animation presenting the object.

[0015] According to a preferred embodiment, the first view of the video sequence is the static representation and, if necessary, the last view of this sequence is also the static representation.

[0016] Often, the target zone comes from a broadcast network.

[0017] The invention also relates to a receiver of audiovisual transmissions, which receiver includes means for implementing the above method.

[0018] The present invention will now be described in greater detail in the context of the following description of example embodiments given for illustrative purposes with reference to the accompanying figures which show:

[0019]FIG. 1, a panorama,

[0020]FIG. 2, a first view of the screen,

[0021]FIG. 3, a second view of this screen, and

[0022]FIG. 4, a block diagram of a receiver suitable for implementing the invention.

[0023] With reference to FIG. 1, a panorama P represents an exterior scene viewed at 360° from an observation centre C. The panorama appears as a cylinder, a sector S (shown in dotted line in the figure) of which can be displayed on a screen.

[0024] The process of moving the displayed sector S so that the whole of the panorama P can be observed is known. The moving of this sector is accompanied by a deformation of the image which gives the observer the sensation of rotating at the centre of the scene.

[0025] With reference to FIG. 2, the displayed sector includes an object OB, that is to say a car, which stands out in the panoramic scene. This object is embedded in a target zone Z. This target zone is, according to the present example, a square shown in dashed-dotted line in FIG. 2. The contour of the target zone is therefore in this case a border extending from the four sides of the square to the inside of the square.

[0026] With reference to FIG. 3, activation control enables the panorama to be moved to bring the target zone into a window which occupies a predetermined position in the screen, for example at the centre of the screen. The operations initiated by this activation command will not be detailed further since they are easily accessible to the person skilled in the art.

[0027] Next, the panorama is immobilized and the content of the window corresponds to a static representation of the object OB or of the target zone Z which may be identical to the content of the target zone in FIG. 2.

[0028] This static representation is perfectly determined since it corresponds to an identified zone of the panorama.

[0029] Following the operation for centring the target zone Z, the method according to the invention proposes to replace the static representation in the window with a video sequence.

[0030] This video sequence can for example be a movie or a sequence of synthesis images resulting from a three-dimensional model.

[0031] However, to prevent an additional visual discontinuity on the screen when the video sequence is displayed, the first image of this sequence and preferably the following images have a contour that is identical to that of the static representation. Thus, visually the sequence appears to be embedded perfectly in the panorama.

[0032] Moreover it is appropriate to emphasize that the panorama has been produced according to a determined optical specification. First, the focal distance or the aperture angle of the lens taking the shots is considered. Thus, it is preferable that the video sequence meets the same specification to further minimize the discontinuities which could appear during display.

[0033] In practice, the video sequence is often a detailed presentation of the object OB viewed from various angles. The first image of the video sequence is thus advantageously identical to the static representation. As such, there are no image jumps on the screen. In addition, still concerned with preventing a visual discontinuity when the video sequence ends and when the panorama is presented to the observer again, the last image of this sequence is identical to the static representation.

[0034] The video sequence could be a presentation of the object, the angular position of which is controlled interactively by the observer. The observer would therefore see an object presented within the panorama. It is to be noted that the presentation of the object must include a fixed background in accordance with the static representation.

[0035] Moreover it is to be noted that the panorama can include several target zones each incorporating a separate object.

[0036] The method of the invention is easily implemented in a receiver of audiovisual transmissions which receives the panorama and video sequence from a broadcast network. In one embodiment, the panorama resides in the receiver, this panorama presenting for example the interior of a supermarket. The video sequences, for example showing objects for sale, are transmitted by the network.

[0037] With reference to FIG. 4, the receiver (R) is for example a decoder compliant with the DVB specifications and which uses an ISO/IEC 13818-1 transport layer.

[0038] An antenna 1 is connected to a tuner 2. The signal provided by the tuner is demodulated by a demodulator 3. The demodulator data is deinterlaced and corrected by an error-correcting circuit 4 and transmitted to a demultiplexer 5. The latter includes a certain number of filters programmed by a microprocessor 23 according to the various applications supported by the decoder. The microprocessor 23 is connected to a memory 12 containing the operating system and the resident or downloaded programs for running applications. The microprocessor is also connected to a clock circuit 27. A character generator 15 is used to generate menus of commands or of graphics concerning the parameters of the decoder or concerning a particular application. The video signal generated is multiplexed with one of the video signals originating from a video decoder 17 to a SCART connector connected to the television screen 22. The multiplexing circuit 20 is managed by the microprocessor 23. For the purposes of making the block diagram clear, only the most important connections of the microprocessor 23 are illustrated.

[0039] The audio or video packets or sections filtered by the demultiplexer are stored in predefined areas of a buffer memory 6. The decoder may also have a hard disk 25 connected to the microprocessor via an interface 26 enabling high-speed information transfers. The decoder is also equipped with an infrared remote control unit 11 connected to the microprocessor via another interface 24.

[0040] The above-described example embodiments of the invention have been chosen for their practical significance. It would not however be possible to exhaustively list all the embodiments that this invention covers. In particular, any method described can be replaced by an equivalent method without departing from the scope of the present invention. 

1. Method for displaying an object (OB) that features in a panorama (P) moving on a screen, which method is characterized in that it includes a step for positioning a target zone (Z) of the panorama surrounding the object in a predetermined window of the screen, and a step for replacing the said target zone (Z) of the panorama by a video sequence that includes the object, the positioning and replacement steps being activated by an activation control.
 2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, since the said window features a reference representation of the said target zone (Z) following the said activation control, the said video sequence exhibits a contour identical to that of this reference representation.
 3. Method according to either of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the moving of the said video sequence is controlled by the user.
 4. Method according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the said window is positioned at the centre of the screen.
 5. Method according to any of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the first view of the said video sequence is identical to the reference representation.
 6. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that the last view of the said sequence is identical to the reference representation.
 7. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the data of the said target zone (Z) comes from a broadcast network.
 8. Receiver (R) of audiovisual transmissions, the said receiver (R) including means for implementing the method according to any of the preceding claims. 